


They Paved Paradise

by Gedry



Series: Bingo Cards [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 09:22:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 15,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gedry/pseuds/Gedry
Summary: Post Season Five with Sam in Hell and Cas in Heaven Dean is lost and lonely.  Turns out he isn't the only one to feel that way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of a collection of Bingo Challenges from 2011 that all link together. They Paved Paradise is a Dean and Cas story. The other two bingos include them and their journey here as part of the background.

They Paved Paradise

Castiel has heard it said that you can never really go home again. He always thought that of all the human commentary that made little sense this had to be one of the worst. 

Of course you can go home again, so long as you remember where home is. He never forgot home. At the first pulse of returning grace to his tired and battered form Castiel had ached to shoot right off to heaven; to rejoin the host and to be welcomed once again amongst his brothers. Riding for that small period of time in the car with Dean had been almost physically painful, his urge was so strong. 

But then he had gone home. It turns out the humans were right. 

Cas isn’t sure if it’s heaven itself that’s changed or if it’s his experiences on Earth that make it so much more difficult to bear. Either way home sucks; his brother’s are egomaniacal ass-hats, and Castiel misses being called Cas. His name doesn’t even feel right anymore.

The Winchesters have forever altered his grace and the angel realizes that he’s been remade into a form that doesn’t truly belong anywhere. 

It’s heartbreaking. 

The feeling is compounded by the fact that several of his brothers outright believe that he is now unworthy of standing amongst them and that his pleadings for peace are a mark of his weakness and of the taint left on his grace by the so called hairless apes. Raphael in particular has Cas in his focus. 

He’s so tired of the fighting. More and more often he finds himself longing for the peace he had so briefly when he was fast asleep in the back seat of the impala on his way to the end of the world. Oblivion sounds wonderful right about now. 

“You should just go.” The voice as soft as the gentle brush against Cas’ grace. 

He turns to find Elijah, one the few brothers that finds him tolerable standing by his side.

“Go where?” Cas asks. 

“Where your heart leads you.” Elijah says it like it’s an easy thing. 

“I think the compass for my heart is broken.” The lie stings as it comes off his tongue. 

“Just because the journey is a hard one doesn’t mean it’s not worth it in the end.” Elijah’s grace shimmers with a pulse of excitement. There’s another meaning to this conversation that Cas is missing. 

“Dean has a home now, a family.” Cas whispers. 

“Are you so certain of that?” Elijah asks with a curve of his wing. 

He’s not. Not really. Cas knows enough to be certain Dean is at Lisa’s but not if his human charge is happy. There’s that thought in the back of his head that wonders if Dean really wants to be there. 

“You’re suggesting I leave heaven?” As miserable as Cas has been he’s never considered that as an option. 

“I’m suggesting you go where your grace leads you.” Elijah answers with a smile. “And stop pouting.”

It’s how Cas finds himself sitting in the back of the impala; surrounded by darkness thanks to the tarp now thrown over her for protection. He listens to the rain pounding down on the garage for a long time before leaning forward and pressing his face to the back of the driver’s seat; the smell of leather and gun oil heavy in the air while he allows himself to cry out his grief.

He doesn’t belong in heaven. 

He has no home on Earth. 

He’s lost.


	2. Chapter 2

They Paved Paradise

He’s exhausted all the time. Lisa says its emotional trauma and Dean knows she’s probably right. There’s this empty place inside of him that never gets filled no matter how hard he works or how much he drinks. Dean just feels dead inside. 

If the longing for his brother wasn’t bad enough, some days it takes every bit of strength he has to keep from praying just to see Cas again. 

But Cas left him. Cas wanted to go home. The angel’s probably soaring through the ether somewhere right now and he’s forgotten all about Dean and the very brief fleck of their time together. After all Cas has lived a long time. Dean will be dust and the angel will still be young. 

Dean doesn’t know what it says about his life that he’s always the one getting left behind. 

He finishes the dishes and checks all the traps and salt lines before climbing the stairs and slipping into bed. Lisa is thankfully already asleep on her side. Dean closes his eyes and tries to relax enough to sleep. 

The world drifts away and the next time he blinks he’s sitting in the back of the impala under the tarp in the garage. It’s not the first time he’s dreamed about being back in his car. It is the first time she was still parked in the garage while he was dreaming. 

There’s a snuffling noise to his left and Dean turns slowly to see what or who is in the backseat with him. 

“Cas?” 

“Dean,” Cas gasps. “What are you doing here?”

The light’s terrible and Cas is leaning away from him but Dean catches the movement when the angel wipes at his face. “Are you crying?”

“It’s of little importance,” Cas answers shakily.

“It is to me.” Dean’s leaning forward; reaching out to try and touch his friend.

There’s a long moment where Cas just stares at Dean with wide eyes. Then the angel is launching himself across the car to burrow up against Dean’s chest; clinging to him like the rest of the world is spinning out of control. 

“I made a mistake,” Cas mumbles into Dean’s neck.

It takes Dean’s brain a second to get on board with what’s going on. He’s distracted by how right it feels to be holding Cas in his arms. It’s not something he’s ever considered before; that this angel might be more to him than just a friend. “What mistake?” He manages to stammer. 

It’s like the dam bursts inside his friend Cas takes a deep breath and rambles “Heaven is horrible. My brothers are out of control and most of them think I’m tainted and ruined by my time here. I hate it. I’m so lonely. It hurts Dean. There’s this pressure in my chest and it never stops expanding. Something’s wrong with me. I don’t belong anywhere.”

He doesn’t know what to say. Dean’s never been good with words. So he reaches around and uses his arms to pull Cas closer before sliding his fingers into the angel’s unruly hair. Dean just croons some comforting noises against the side of his friend’s cheek and waits for the shaking to ease off. 

It feels so good to be close to Cas like this. But then the angel leans up presses his mouth against Dean’s in what has to be the messiest, weirdest, most inexperienced first kiss in the history of angelic kind. When he pulls away Dean just blinks before saying “Cas?” 

Then he’s shooting up in the bed and out of the dream. Its morning and Lisa’s already in the shower. Dean runs a shaking hand over his lips remembering the hot press of his friend’s mouth. 

He knows it was just a dream. But that doesn’t stop him from running out to the garage and yanking the tarp off of the Impala. 

The backseat’s empty.


	3. Chapter 3

They Paved Paradise

“I love you.” 

She’s only said it a few times. He hasn’t been able to say it back. The first time she had hardly blinked when he remained silent; tugging him in and holding him against her chest while something died inside him. 

Everyone Dean has ever loved is gone.

He’s not stupid enough to give his heart away again. 

It starts to get complicated somewhere around the three month mark; when they’re in bed together and the sweat is cooling on their bodies. When she runs her hands through is hair and hums those words out against his skin and Dean freezes. It’s like having freezing water dumped over his head every time. 

She starts turning away from him when he climbs into the bed at night. He slips into dreams ignoring the cold flesh of her shoulder that’s now replaced where her welcoming smile used to be. 

Dean doesn’t leave; he made a promise. The last promise he swears that he will ever make to anyone. 

He can’t fail Sam again. 

It starts sometime in the middle of the fifth month. Dean lays his head down one night and finds himself with an armful of distraught angel. Cas. Dean realizes in that one instant of pulling his friend against his chest that he isn’t as incapable of love as he thought. 

It’s just that the person he wants to love lives in the wrong zip code; the REALLY wrong zip code. 

So Dream Cas is miserable, just like Dean. He finds a little bit of comfort in that. Then Dream Cas kisses him and as bad a kiss as it is, it’s still the only thing that’s made Dean feel joy since…..well, for such a long time that Dean doesn’t even want to think about how miserable his life is.

There’s just one major problem. Dream Cas is a dream. Dean wakes up and the car is empty and so is his life. 

Then three weeks later it happens again. Dean falls asleep and spends a night in a filthy little theater, that doesn’t even have surround sound, watching a black and white Charlie Chaplin film. Dean doesn’t get it, but Cas laughs his ass off and at the end there’s just this brief moment when the angel leans over and their shoulders touch. 

Dean thinks it feels more intimate than sex with Lisa ever has. 

Then he wakes up again. 

“This isn’t working.” 

She says it one night after Ben’s gone to sleep and Dean’s taking out the trash. He doesn’t know how to answer her. He promised Sam he’d stay. 

“You’re never going to love me. I’m not who you’re looking for.” Her voice is so sad and resigned. Dean feels like he showered in guilt that morning. 

“I’m not looking for anyone,” he answers. But they both know it’s a lie. 

“Yes you are,” she says. “He’s thin; with dark hair and blue eyes. He wears a suit and a trench coat. You look for him on every corner, and around every turn, and at night when you’re sleeping you call out his name just as much as you call for Sam. He’s who you want Dean; and you should go find him.” 

“Lisa,” he whispers. But she shakes her head with a sad smile.

“Get out Dean.”

That’s how Dean and the Impala end up back on the road.


	4. Chapter 4

They Paved Paradise

Staying away from Dean proves to be difficult. More so than Castiel had ever thought it would be. 

But then Elijah had come to him and it seems had decided to follow his own advice. It was with Castiel’s blessing that Elijah leaves heaven; flinging himself into the pit to retrieve the youngest Winchester brother. 

If Castiel lives to see another thousand years he doubts he will ever discover what it is about the Winchesters that makes them so irresistible. 

Those few nights he’s spent with Dean have been so haunting and beautiful. Even if they were just dreams and Dean believes that Cas has abandoned him. 

It’s unbearable to remain in Heaven, and even more unbearable to be so near the man he loves so much, and then have him get into bed with a woman. 

Lisa has a good soul. She wants so much to be what Dean needs, and a part of Cas empathizes with her. He doesn’t have a clue what Dean needs either. But then Lisa tells Dean to leave and Cas goes into full blown panic. 

He knew Dean was safe with Lisa. Dean wasn’t alone when he was with Lisa. But now there’s nothing but miles of open road and nights filled with monsters, and demons, and not having anyone to watch his back. 

Cas does the only thing that seems right to his grace. He flies to the bar that Dean is currently drowning his sorrows in, and settles himself in the driver’s seat of the Impala, and waits. 

Dean is less than pleased to see him. 

“What the fuck are you doing here Cas?” 

“Driving you home,” Cas answers. 

He’s surprised when Dean walks around the car and slides into the passenger seat. 

“Do I need to tell you where I’m staying at?” Dean asks when he leans back against the interior. 

“No.” And so Cas drives her for the very first time. 

Back at the hotel and safely in the room Dean eyes him carefully. 

“Why are you here?” 

Castiel flounders before settling on the truth. “I have nowhere else to go.”

“Well,” Dean snorts, “I guess that makes two of us then.”

Dean drops to the bed, ready to sleep it off. Cas settles into the only chair in the tiny motel room. Though their reunion is less than warm, the angel feels more whole than he has in all the time that they have been apart. 

He uses his grace to turn off the lights and Dean sighs. After long moments in the dark the hunter whispers, “I’ve been dreaming about you.”

Castiel doesn’t know what to say. 

“They weren’t dreams were they Cas? Not really.” Dean mumbles half asleep already, from where he’s sprawled. 

“Not for me,” Castiel answers. 

He waits for his friend to tell him to leave. For Dean to throw him out and tell him to never bother him again. 

Instead Dean whispers, “Cas? Promise you’ll be here in the morning.”

“I promise.” And Castiel believes with everything that he is, that the command of God himself could not force him to leave that room before Dean’s eyes see the light of another day. 

The only response that he gets from his human charge is muffled snoring and it’s more than enough to get Cas through the night.


	5. Chapter 5

They Paved Paradise

It’s not a feeling that Cas is used to having….this ball of giddy excitement centered in his chest whenever Dean steps into his personal space or catches him with the turn of his eye. 

So many times over the last few weeks Cas has found himself flushed and pink under the weight of this new connection they have found. 

Though he is unable to accurately describe it with words; the emotion is there just the same. The angel’s not the only one who feels it. 

Dean is less gruff with him as they learn a new routine together. The hunter is cautious and gentle with him as they find their way around one another. Cas having to focus, to center himself to rediscover his connection to humanity through his newly powered grace. His feelings are convoluted and confusing to begin with, but that thread of affection that Cas holds onto so tightly is expanding into something he’s never experienced before. 

Attraction. He desires Dean physically. He wants to touch him; wants to kiss him again without the desperation of that first hot press of their mouths. He wants Dean to touch him in return. The idea alone is enough to make the angel flustered. He had always been taught that the need to physically mate was an urge the vessel suffered. That an angel would not sully themselves with such needs. But Jimmy is long gone; Cas has seen him settled and content in his own heaven many times. They have become friends. So if it’s not his vessel that aches with this need to be held and caressed then it must be him that feels it and that is so much more complicated. 

That means Cas is unable to subdue the urge. 

Every time Dean brushes up against him he gets a flush of heat through his body that settles into his cheeks. Every time Dean smiles at him Cas finds himself having to look away and loosing his train of thought. 

Truly he spends most of his time stammering like an idiot in Dean’s presence, and he wonders how the human is putting up with him. 

Strangely, Dean doesn’t seem to mind. 

“You’re doing it again.”

“What?” Cas blinks; shaking himself back into the present. 

“You’re smirking to yourself with that far away look in your eyes,” Dean comments nudging Cas with his elbow gently while he settles next to him leaning against the Impala. 

“I’m sorry,” Cas answers feeling the heat slam into his face again. “I was lost in thought.”

“Now you’re blushing again,” Dean chuckles. “What’s up with you Cas?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t pull that crap with me,” Dean snorts. “You’re always staring at me and turning pink up to you ears, or I turn around to look at you and you just stop talking in the middle of a sentence and your hands shake. I don’t get it. Last night I walked out of the bathroom in a towel and you tripped over a chair.”

“I’m sorry if you find my behavior disturbing,” Cas mutters. He stiffens against the look Dean shoots him before standing straighter and planning to fly away for a bit of distance. 

“It’s not disturbing Cas,” Dean barks before the angel can disappear. “It’s cute actually; like we’re on the longest first date in history.”

“Oh,” Cas can’t think of anything else to say and to his horror his mouth quirks up into a tiny pleased smile. 

“Adorkable,” Dean murmurs as he reaches over and tangles their fingers together slowly. Cas feels all of his tension slip away.


	6. Chapter 6

They Paved Paradise

“I don’t get it,” Dean huffs. Dropping onto the bed and slouching, while he rubs his hands over his face. “Why can’t I just go with you?”

“It’s not a place where I can bring you Dean,” Cas answers again. “I won’t be able to guarantee your safety. So it’s best if you stay here.”

“If it’s not safe enough for me then it’s not safe enough for you either. Just don’t go.” Dean’s agitated, almost to the point of throwing things. They’ve been at this for almost and hour and Cas isn’t giving an inch. Dean’s starting to get scared. The angel is dead set on going off on this task that he won’t tell Dean about, and refuses to let Dean go with him. He’s not exactly saying it’s dangerous, but he’s not saying it’s safe; and when Dean’s pressed for more information, Cas just clams up tight like he wants so badly to tell Dean what’s going on but something is keeping him from doing it. 

“I have to go Dean,” Cas mutters. “If you knew what was at stake here you would be more than willing to let me take the risk.”

“Then tell me what’s at stake!” Dean’s so tired and is getting angry now in the face of his friend just flat out keeping him in the dark. “Why won’t you trust me? I can’t deal with this shit Cas. You have to tell me the truth; I need for us to be on equal ground here. I can’t function with a bunch of bullshit anymore. I need us to be something better than that.”

“Dean,” the angel whispers. “I’m not trying to keep secrets from you. I have this task to complete and then you’ll understand why I couldn’t speak of it to you. There won’t be any more secrets after this. I know it’s hard for you to understand but please, trust me.”

“I do trust you Cas,” Dean spits. “You just obviously don’t trust me.”

“That’s not true!”

“Whatever,” Dean sighs waving the angel away when he steps closer; “Just go and do whatever it is that’s so fucking important, and maybe we can hook back up later when you feel like you have time for me.”

“You’re just being difficult now,” Cas accuses. It’s the wrong thing to say and he knows it even as the words leave his mouth. This isn’t how he wants this to go. 

“I’m NOT the difficult one damn it!” Dean yells. “Just get the fuck out Cas.” 

“I will not,” Cas argues. “You don’t mean it.”

“Then tell me what you’re doing,” Dean demands.

“I cannot,” Cas blurts. He’s desperate to make the hunter understand how much he wishes he could tell him, “It’s a secret.”

Dean’s eyebrows draw together in stunned silence, and he’s moving suddenly into Cas’ personal space grabbing the angel’s arm like he’s going to shake the truth out of Cas. But the angel raises his fingers and presses them to Dean’s forehead making him sleep. 

“I’m so sorry Dean.” Cas whispers as his human friend drops unconscious into his arms. “But I can’t tell you. If I told you I was going to retrieve Sam, and then failed to bring your brother back to you it would break you, and I would never forgive myself for causing you so much pain. It’s better this way. Hopefully by the time you wake I’ll be back with Sam and you’ll be able to forgive me.”

He presses his lips to the hunter’s cheek and whispers, “I love you Dean.” 

Then he spreads his wings and dives for Hel’s fortress.


	7. Chapter 7

They Paved Paradise

Cas is still gone when Dean wakes up. He takes a dark look around the hotel room, before stumbling to his feet and heading to the bathroom, mumbling “Fucker,” on the way.

He’s washing his face when he hears someone clearing their throat in his room. It sends chills down his spine. Dean’s heard his brother make that fucking annoying noise at least once every day for all but a few years of his life, and it’s gross as hell even when it’s clearly a figment of his imagination. 

He throws open the bathroom door with his gun drawn only to freeze when he sees his brother sitting on the end of the king sized bed. 

“Hi Dean,” Sam whispers; adding an awkward little wave in for good measure. 

Dean shoots his eyes to the left catching Cas’ gaze who nods slowly in confirmation. “He is who he appears to be.”

Dean stumbles, the room rotating on it axis suddenly, as his gun falls from numb fingers onto the floor. He doesn’t move, too stunned even to think about replying; while Sam eases himself up off the bed, and steps around him into the bathroom coming back out with a towel that he uses to wipe the soap off of Dean’s face, while the older Winchester just stands there trembling. 

“You okay Dean?” Sam asks softly. 

“No,” Dean murmurs as tears start leaking down his cheeks. “No, I haven’t been okay for a really long time.” 

The honesty startles a bark of laughter out of Sam, who’s face cracks in a huge smile full of warmth and affection, before he gathers Dean up and squeezes until his older brother grunts out a complaint, even as he holds Sam all that much tighter. Hugging turns into shoving that bleeds into a playful wrestling match ending with them collapsed panting at Cas’ feet while the angel looks on confused. 

Sam doesn’t remember where he’s been or how Cas got him out. The angel simply says he would prefer not to talk about it. It bugs Dean but the joy of having his little brother whole, and healthy, and free of the darkness that seemed to plague them both for years is more than enough to distract him from pressing the issue. For now. 

They guzzle milkshakes and scarf down burgers while they bicker and laugh. Dean catches Sam up on world events since he’s been gone; and the phone call to Bobby is enough to make even Cas tear up a little bit. The older hunter on the phone, sobbing into the receiver about his boys being safe, and both Dean and Sam promising to head his way first thing in the morning. 

After Sam drops off to sleep, Dean corners Cas out by the soda machine and presses, “Where has Sam been?”

“I swore my silence Dean. I know you will find that unforgivable, but I will not break that vow.”

He considers it for a moment that he could end this night like he ended the one before. They could fight and he could yell, feeling betrayed and mistrusted. Or he can do something different and try to have a little faith.

For once Dean goes for faith even though it seems so unfamiliar. He presses his mouth hot and hard against Cas’ and waits for the angel’s posture to go from rigid to fluid under his hands. 

When Cas finally melts against him, Dean uses every trick he knows to leave him weak in the knees and whimpering. He tugs away, smiling at Cas’ swollen lips and the fact that the angel drifts after him like a bee seeking honey. His eyes hooded with emotion and want. 

“I love you,” Dean says surely, so there can be no misunderstanding. “You’re it for me okay?”

Cas gives him a shaky nod in return before pressing himself closer and burrowing against Dean’s chest.


	8. Chapter 8

They Paved Paradise

“Look,” Dean sighs while he rocks his beer back and forth between two hands. “If you like him it doesn’t have to be that big a deal. Just tell him.”

“You’re kidding me right?” Adam asks with wide eyes full of disbelief. “You’re not telling me to talk to him? You?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Dean asks sitting up a little straighter. 

“You’ve been in love with your angel forever and you guys still aren’t together,” Adam points out, while he gestures to the kitchen where Elijah is showing Castiel how to make macaroni and cheese. 

“He knows I’m in love with him,” Dean challenges. “I told him a while ago, when Sam got back.”

“Really?” Adam sputters. “Then why are you guys….” He makes a gesture with his hands like he’s trying to twist two things into one another. 

“Why aren’t we what?” Dean asks as he leans a little farther away.

“Together,” Adam clarifies exasperated. “You still orbit around each other with all this tension. It’s really weird man.”

“It’s not weird!” Dean exclaims, “We’re just taking it slow.”

“Dude,” Adam chuckles. “You guys are taking it stopped.”

“Shut up,” Dean snaps, but the way he shoves Adam’s chair over with his foot is anything but upset. There’s a slowly growing brotherly affection between them that Dean would have once said he didn’t think he could share with anyone but Sam. 

“I’m just saying,” Adam chuckles. “I mean Cas is spending more and more time on Earth with you. He’s got to be noticing some other couples doing the things that couples do. Eventually he’s got to start wondering why you aren’t like holding his hand and everything else.”

Dean doesn’t even answer. He doesn’t know how. Adam has a point.

It’s three weeks later when Dean notices Cas watching a man and a woman obviously on a date. There’s something in the angel’s eyes that looks confused and sad. Dean considers the fact that maybe Cas isn’t comfortable the way things are between them, maybe he’s just waiting for Dean to take the lead. So he slides his hand toward Cas under the table and tangles their fingers together; offering a gentle squeeze when Cas doesn’t pull away. It’s a start, but Dean figures if the angel’s been waiting for this long Dean owes him a little more than just that.

He tells Sam to get his own room that night. His brother looks at him curiously, but he doesn’t bitch when Dean tells him that he and Cas need some space to talk some stuff out. 

Once they’re alone, Cas stands in the center of the room frozen and wide eyed as Dean tugs off his shirt and undoes his belt. 

“What are you doing?” the angel whispers. 

“Getting more comfortable,” Dean answers. “You should try it.”

Cas complies. Dean’s a little shocked at that actually, as he unbuttons his dress shirt with shaky fingers and kicks off his shoes. 

“How comfortable are we getting?” Cas asks when he crosses his arms across his now bare chest in a move that pretty much indicates that he’s not comfortable at all. 

Dean raises an eye brow at him for a moment, before he cups the side of Cas’ face and kisses him roughly before undoing the angel’s belt and sliding his pants and underwear down. 

Cas’ breathing is shaky and there’s a quiver in his body that Dean can feel just under his skin as he drops to his knees and grips Cas’ bare hips. 

“Dean?” Cas gasps. 

“Cas, have you ever had an orgasm?” Dean asks while he nuzzles in along side the other man’s hard and already leaking dick. 

“No.”

“Well then,” Dean huffs, so distracted by the scent and feel of his lover that he’s forgotten why they were taking things so slowly in the first place. “In a few minutes you’re going to be more comfortable than you have ever been in your whole life.” 

He’s pretty sure Cas tries to say something back then, but Dean distracts him by licking a stripe up the underside of Cas’ dick before sucking it into his mouth. Cas back arches and his hands jerk down to grab at Dean’s shoulders and hair. For a second, when he comes Dean’s almost sure the angels touches him with his grace. It leaves him shaken and aching. 

Ten minutes later he’s showing Cas how to give his first hand job. The angel’s a quick study and proves to be playful in bed in a way that he never is outside of it. He’s endlessly amused by the different sounds Dean makes while he drags out working him to orgasm until the hunter is pleading and all of Dean’s defenses are melted away. 

A half hour after that, Dean’s got Cas’ head pillowed on his chest while they dose and he rubs his hand up and down along Cas’ back. 

“I’ve been waiting,” Cas whispers after a long time. 

“I don’t know much about love Cas,” Dean sighs. “But I do know one thing for sure; I’m an idiot. You need to not just wait around for me to figure it out. It’s never going to happen. You need to tell me what you want, what you need.”

“I can do that,” Cas assures him, and Dean drifts off to sleep feeling more secure than he’s felt in a damn long time.


	9. Chapter 9

They Paved Paradise

“Dean…..I still fail to understand the purpose of these messages. If we wished to speak to one another would it not be more effective for me to just fly to where you are? This is a highly antiquated for of communication. Still…I find myself….missing you. I have no particular information to impart other than the fact that you have been on my mind and that I look forward to when we can next be together. I’m thinking of you; nearly all of the time actually. It’s quite distracting. I believe that my presence will no longer be required here in a matter of days. After that I will be able to return to you. I hope you are well my….my love.”

Dean’s played the message five times now and he still can’t wipe the dopy grin off his face every time he gets to the end and hears Cas’ rough voice stutter over the endearment. It makes the whole last week of missed phone calls and freezing nights camped out trying to catch sight of some mysterious thing that goes bump in the night that never showed up. 

Fuck sometimes Dean hates his job. 

They couldn’t afford to risk the sound of him talking drawing attention to them while they crouched in the frigid night air and snow, so he had set his phone to silent and managed to sneak a few texts out when Sam wasn’t looking. 

Well or mostly wasn’t looking….Sam had given him the stink eye a few times. 

Granted Dean’s attempts at romance aren’t nearly as sweet as Cas’.

When are you coming home?

This job sucks. The least you could do is call you know.

I’m thinking of a number between one and one hundred. Fuck I’m bored.

Are you okay?

Dude it’s totally not cool to just crawl out of bed with someone, fly away and never call. 

By the time they give it up and pack it in Dean’s flopped on the bed on his sixth listen of his angel’s message when it occurs to him that text messages, even really good ones, aren’t that romantic and Cas is making a gesture here. 

How does a being of celestial intent even use a cell phone?

So he slides off the bed and locks himself in the bathroom, turning on all the faucets to try and drowned out the sound of him actually growing a vagina from Sam, and then he calls Cas back. 

When the automated voicemail message comes on Dean has a moment of panic because he never actually got around to deciding what he was going to say. 

“Uh hey Cas. I umm got your message. Thanks for calling. Look I know you hate the whole voice mail thing but I’m glad you left the message. It was…really good to hear your voice. I miss you too, a lot actually. I hope you already know that but in case you don’t there it is. So….things kind of suck around here without you. I’m really not good at this man. So just be safe and come home soon. I don’t like being away from you. I love you Cas.”

And when he hangs up Dean’s face is so red he can’t even look at himself in the mirror because he’s too embarrassed. He brushes his teeth, and clicks off the lights before sparing a glance at his brother, who’s already snoring, and sliding into the bed closest to the door. 

Sleep doesn’t come easily even though Dean’s exhausted. 

He wakes up in stages the next morning, warm and cuddled up next to someone. Dean stiffens for a moment but then smiles and snuggles down into Cas’ arms. There’s no one else that could get this close to him while he was sleeping and not lose an eye. 

“Why aren’t you under the covers?” Dean whispers into his angel’s neck. 

“I did not want Sam to feel uncomfortable,” Cas answers before pressing a kiss to Dean’s temple.

“He wouldn’t care,” Dean mumbles. 

“Yes I would!” Sam rumbles from the other bed before rolling over and snorting, “Dude at least your boyfriend isn’t an asshole.” 

Dean opens his mouth to answer before he decides he’s too happy to care.


	10. Chapter 10

They Paved Paradise  
 _"Don't you understand anything that's going on?  
Buttercup shook her head.  
Westley shook his too. "You never have been the brightest, I guess."  
"Do you love me, Westley? Is that it?"  
He couldn't believe it. "Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches! If your love were -"  
"I don't understand that first one yet," Buttercup interrupted. She was starting to get very excited now. "Let me get this straight. Are you saying my love is a grain of sand and yours is this other thing? Images confuse me so - is this universal business of yours bigger than my sand? Help me, Westley. I have the feeling we're on the verge of something just terribly important."_  
"Cas I hate to break this to you," Sam chuckles from across the room. "But Dean can read."  
"Shut up ass wipe," Dean blurts, kicking out with his foot even though they all know there's no way Dean's going to be able to reach his brother from where he's sitting. "I never said I couldn't read."  
"You just like the way his voice sounds," Sam accuses though privately he has to admit that Cas has one of those voices that could read you the phone book and you'd ask him to do it again.   
"Indeed," Cas rumbles before nuzzling into Dean's hair with his nose. Sam can't help but smile at the easy affection he now sees between the two. He's still not entirely sure about how much of their relationship is really defined, but Dean is so happy he's glowing and the angel looks like he's preening half the time so things must be good for them.  
Sam wishes he was so lucky. Romance is a part of his life that he just feels sort of flat and blank on since he got back from hell. There's a part of him that gets bigger everyday that honestly he’s a little worried about. Something's not right, not where it's supposed to be and Sam can't put his finger on it. Even with Elijah's help all he's been able to come up with is a name and some very old lore.   
Hel. Even thinking about her makes something shift inside him painfully; that brief glimpse of whatever it was that Elijah showed him makes Sam itch all over for more. Thus far though he's got no leads and it's starting to drive him crazy.   
"How about dinner?" Dean asks from the circle of Cas' arms and Sam sighs with a shake of his head. His older brother, tough as nails, cuddling; it's a sight for sure.   
"Why not," Sam answers. "It's Cas turn to go get it though. No more kicking me out of the motel room and locking the door. I am NOT sleeping in the car tonight."  
"Okay, okay," Dean snorts sitting up. "What's your poison?"  
"Chinese?" Sam offers.   
"Good enough for me," Dean agrees he turns to Cas and says, "Three egg rolls, two chicken fried rice, some broccoli with garlic sauce, and don't forget the fortune cookies this time. Oh yeah, I want chopsticks."  
Sam struggles to hide back a grin, when Cas rises to his feet and faces Dean with a low bow and a sincere "As you wish," before he blinks out of the room.   
Dean sits still for a long moment before you turns to Sam and says, "Do you think he was implying I'm Buttercup in our relationship?"  
"Dude," Sam laughs. "You are totally Buttercup."  
He doesn't even flinch when Dean rushes over and hits him hard on the arm. It feels too good to be laughing. Besides it's totally true.   
Which makes Sam wonder which role Cas thinks he plays.   
That night, after they've consumed more food than three grown men have any right to eat and Dean is dosing lightly with his head pillowed in Cas' lap, Sam drifts off to sleep in his bed alone only to find himself lounging on a furry rug in front of a fire while a woman's voice reads:  
 _"I’m going to tell you something once and then whether you die is strictly up to you," Westley said, lying pleasantly on the bed. "What I’m going to tell you is this: drop your sword, and if you do, then I will leave with this baggage here"—he glanced at Buttercup—"and you will be tied up but not fatally, and will be free to go about your business. And if you choose to fight, well, then, we will not both leave alive."_  
"You are only alive now because you said 'to the pain.' I want that phrase explained."  
"My pleasure. To the pain means this: if we duel and you win, death for me. If we duel and I win, life for you. But life on my terms. The first thing you lose will be your feet. Below the ankle. You will have stumps available to use within six months. Then your hands, at the wrists. They heal somewhat quicker. Five months is a fair average. Next your nose. No smell of dawn for you. Followed by your tongue. Deeply cut away. Not even a stump left. And then your left eye—"  
"And then my right eye, and then my ears, and shall we get on with it?" the Prince said.  
"Wrong!" Westley’s voice rang across the room. "Your ears you keep, so that every shriek of every child shall be yours to cherish—every babe that weeps in fear at your approach, every woman that cries 'Dear God, what is that thing?' will reverberate forever with your perfect ears. That is what 'to the pain' means. It means that I leave you in anguish, in humiliation, in freakish misery until you can stand it no more; so there you have it, pig, there you know, you miserable vomitous mass, and I say this now, and live or die, it’s up to you: Drop your sword!"  
The sword crashed to the floor.  
He smiles at the different voices she uses as she reads the words; it makes him feel transported to a different place, where the written scene springs to life before his eyes in a way much more real than watching the movie ever did on some crappy motel TV.   
"You're good at this," he mutters rolling over to feel her long hair brush across his face.  
"Not much in the way of entertainment here you know," she chuckles. "The characters evolved into people over time."  
"You like this story," he comments.  
"It's one of my favorites," she sighs, stretching out beside him on the rug and slinging her leg over his hips.   
"Why?" Sam questions. "You have so many other books."  
"It reminds me of you," she sighs as she brushes her fingers through his hair. "I miss you my love."  
And then it hits him. "Hel?" he gasps. "This is real isn't it? This isn't a memory."  
"No Sam, it's not," she says sadly. "But you won't remember. Dreams are like that sometimes."  
"I don't want to forget you," he says clinging to her arms as he watches a tear roll down her cheek.   
"I'm sorry," she whispers and with one soft brush of her lips against his he's slamming awake in his bed so violently that he falls off the side and onto the floor with a bang. Dean doesn't move and Sam suspects Cas has something to do with that. The angel watches him with wary eyes as Sam tries to remember what it was that he wanted so badly to hold onto. But the dream slips away as his frustration grows.  
"Damn it!" Sam snarls as he jerks on his shoes and heads toward the door to their room. "I'm going for a walk," he says to Cas on his way by. The bitterness suddenly overwhelming.   
"Sam," the angel calls out before he shuts the door behind him. "Have fun storming the castle."  
Sam shuts the door thinking it's another one of Cas' poor attempts at humor. He's a mile down the road in the freezing cold when he remembers the dream. He stumbles in the street and sits down on the side of the road overwhelmed with a feeling of warmth and affection that he’s been missing since he came back.   
When he slides back into the room later he’s burned off his restlessness. He bumps Cas on the shoulder companionably as he heads back to his bed. But he notices in the weeks to come that Cas never reads that book to Dean anymore.


	11. Chapter 11

They Paved Paradise

“Look,” Dean snarls as the four of them make it back to the hotel room. “I get that you and your mojo are great in a pinch Cas, but you got to stop blasting into every fight I have. I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“You are injured, again,” Cas points out with serious intensity. “Explain to me again how well you are capable of taking care of yourself.”

“It’s just part of the job,” Dean shrugs. “Sometimes we get them sometimes they get us. It’s the deal. You know that.”

“UNACCEPTABLE!” Cas erupts as he slams his hand down on the motel room table so hard that it cracks down the center and part of the top falls to the floor. “You will NOT speak of your life in such a fashion. I won’t hear any more of it Dean. So help me.”

“So help you WHAT?” Dean snaps as he rounds on the angel and faces him down like he’s not still bleeding out of the gash on his side.

“Don’t push me,” Cas warns as he cocks his head to one side and narrows his eyes. 

“Stop treating me like a child,” Dean orders. 

“Stop acting like one and I will,” Cas spits back. 

They’re creeping across the floor toward each other with every traded exchange; neither of them willing to back down from the fight or find a common ground. Dean’s actually surprised it’s taken this long for them to get to this point. The honeymoon has never lasted this long for him before and Cas is pretty intense. They’re going to butt heads. It’s a fact of life.

What he hadn’t counted on was how much Cas smashing a table to bits was going to turn him on. 

Dean’s a simple guy really; feed him, find him some beer, let him clean up, and give him just the tiniest bit of affection and he’s set. Cas is good at that stuff; hell, Cas is better at that stuff than anyone Dean’s ever been with. But up until now that’s been pretty much what their relationship has been about. 

It’s been about Dean. 

That table is NOT about Dean. That table is about Cas and Cas’ needs and what Cas wants and apparently what Cas wants is hardwired straight to Dean’s dick because seriously? He doesn’t even remember what the fuck they’re fighting about now.

Then Sam clears his throat and Dean blinks, realizing that he and Cas are pretty much toe to toe at this point and panting with emotion. He shifts his gaze to his brother’s for a second then pointedly looks at the door. 

“We’re out of here,” Sam blurts, grabbing Hel’s hand and tugging her off behind him even as she drags her feet and mutters, “But it’s going to be so hot. I want to see.” 

Before the door shuts, before he can even turn his head back toward the angel, Cas has pressed in closer, grabbed Dean’s arms so tight he loses feeling in his arms and licked a stripe up the side of his neck. 

“Am I going to be able to walk tomorrow?” Dean whimpers as Cas manhandles him back toward the bed. 

“It’s unlikely,” Cas growls as he shoves Dean down onto the edge of the bed and starts stripping off his own shirt. 

Dean manages to get his shirt off before Cas grabs at his hair with one hand, holding his tie in the other. “Get on the bed,” Cas orders darkly. “On your back and put your hands above your head.”

“You’re fucking kidding me right?” Dean asks because it’s not like they have a safe word or anything. 

“No,” Cas whispers, “I’m not.”

It’s embarrassing how fast Dean scrambles to get in position.


	12. Chapter 12

They Paved Paradise

It’s a pretty shitty date as far as Dean is concerned, but it’s not like he’s had a lot of time to plan it. 

Cas seems enthralled though so maybe it’s good enough. 

Botanical Garden is not something Dean thinks about as a good date idea, but Cas had perked up as soon as he found out that was what the case involved. They took out a restless spirit by destroying a garden gnome, and the manager of the place was so excited to have it gone he offered them a free night time pass. 

It’s nice to not have to flee town as fast as they can for once. 

“It’s beautiful,” Cas gasps as they stroll along the atrium. Dean smiles at the angel.

It will be Christmas soon and the shrubs and trees are covered in Christmas lights. The whole place has this warm glow about it that makes Dean feel like nothing bad could happen here. 

It’s not often he feels that way anymore. 

“Thank you so much for this,” Cas whispers to him as he tugs Dean along gently by their linked hands. “I know this isn’t really something you would have considered fun.”

“I love it,” Dean answers honestly. “It’s quiet here and you’re happy. I’m good Cas.”

He’s even better when the angel stops walking and kisses him long and deep. 

They follow the path around the area talking about the different plants, and Cas getting fascinated by learning something new about the world that he’s never stopped to think about. 

“There so much diversity here,” he says awestruck. “Everything on this planet designed to be wild and different and free. It’s very unlike home.”

“Stay with me,” Dean blurts. 

Cas looks up from where he’s bent over examining a particularly interesting specimen. “Pardon?”

“Stay,” Dean says again. “Here with me on Earth. Don’t go back to heaven. I want this thing between us to be something permanent; I don’t want to be your part time job.”

“You’re not a job Dean,” Cas snorts. “You’re my…..” 

The angel trails off with a look of confusion on his face. 

“See,” Dean huffs. “We don’t even know what to call each other.”

“Angels don’t have a name for what you are to me Dean,” Cas explains with a distant look on his face. “We aren’t designed to feel the way I feel about you.”

“So what do you want to call me then?” Dean asks as he kicks at the dirt on the path. “I mean friend doesn’t cover it, boyfriend sounds stupid, partner makes it sound like we’re in a business together. What else is there?” 

“Beloved?” Cas offers. “Mate perhaps? I don’t know what to say here Dean. You’re not just a specific thing to me, you’re my everything.”

“Oh,” Dean says softly as Cas moves on down the path of the gardens. He blushes at the feeling of warmth the angel’s words produce in his chest. 

“And yes,” Cas whispers in without turning to face him. “I’ll stay with you, always. All you had to do was ask.”


	13. Chapter 13

They Paved Paradise

“It’s gooey,” she complains as she looks down on the pie with a mix of anticipation and disgust. 

“It’s cherry,” Cas informs her gently as he sets out a plate for her and two forks. He settles on the bed and crosses his legs before motioning her to join him. 

She hesitantly follows his example. Once he cuts her a piece Hel holds it close to her face and inhales before grinning and taking the fork he holds out to her. 

They sit in silence for a while as they eat. 

“This is…..bonding?” Hel asks around a mouthful of pie.

“Winchester style,” Cas agrees. “It’s a family tradition of sorts. One that Dean is particularly fond of.”

“We’re family,” Hel comments and she’s kind enough to ignore it when Cas stiffens momentarily. “I mean you’re my father’s brother so that makes you my uncle correct?”

“I suppose it does,” Cas nods. 

“Do we have family traditions?” she presses. 

When he looks up she’s gripping the edge of the plastic plate so hard it’s crumpling. 

“Our family is…..complicated,” Cas offers. 

“It’s not close,” Hel infers. “Not like the Winchesters.”

“Correct,” Cas says. “Honestly Hel, I have found more affection and joy while on the run with our two mates than I ever did while with what would be considered our family. They are kind of…..dicks.”

He sighs when she looks disappointed. 

“I’m sorry.”

“No,” she hurries to assure him. “It’s not you. I just have always wondered about my father’s family. I’ve dreamed about seeing him again and finding this lush group of people that I’m connected to in a way I’d never dreamed up.”

“And instead you’re eating pie with me,” Cas comments. “I can understand how underwhelming that might be.”

“It’s not that,” Hel huffs, her one eye narrowing in displeasure. “You’ve been wonderful to me. I just feel like I missed so much.”

He doesn’t know what to say in return so instead Cas takes another bite of pie and chews it slowly with his eyes closed; searching for that warm feeling of connectedness he gets when he shares pie with Dean. 

It’s missing.

“Do you like me?” Hel whispers finally. 

Cas almost chokes on his pie. “Why would you even ask that?” 

“My father is dead, my mother long lost to me,” she says softly. “My brothers are missing. You are all the family I have. I want to be good enough for you. I want you to be proud of what I am. I hope you will grow to care for me over time.”

“Hel,” Cas whispers as he leans forward to touch her shoulder gently. “I like you very much and the last person you need to concern yourself about being good enough for is me.” 

“But you’re the closest thing I have to a father now,” Hel explains. 

He’s struck dumb by her. 

“If I were lucky enough to be your father Hel,” he answers. “I would be very proud indeed. I can’t offer you more than my affections. I have nothing else to give.”

“I’ll take them gladly,” she chuckles. “My long life has been very absent of affection until recently.”

They both take another piece of pie and are halfway through eating it before Cas blurts: “I thought of something else I have to give you.”

“What?” She asks. 

“Another uncle,” Cas beams. “He’s also a Winchester. We’ll plan a trip. Elijah will love you.” 

Her smile is radiant. 

“Should we finish it?” he asks. “Or save some for the boys?”

She bites her lip as she contemplates her answer. 

“Let’s finish it. They can get their own pie.”


	14. Chapter 14

They Paved Paradise

“No it’s more of a sway,” Dean chuckles as Cas shuffles his feet restlessly from side to side. 

“I look stupid,” the angel grumbles. 

“It’s just us here,” Dean chides him gently. 

“I know,” Cas sighs. “But my belief was that this would be an easy endeavor and it’s turning into anything but.”

“It’s because you’re so tense,” Dean comments. “Just relax and feel the music.”

“How am I supposed to feel the music Dean?” Cas huffs as he jerks back out of his mate’s arms and glares. “I can hear the music but there is nothing to feel.”

Dean looks at him for a long time until Cas lets out a long breath and shakes out his arms. “I know, I know, this is one of those ‘the voice says I’m almost out of minutes’ conversations. You mean I need to focus more on the music and less on my body.”

“See?” Dean grins. “You’re starting to get it!”

He sounds so pleased that Cas can’t help but blush a little as he steps back into Dean’s arms. He’s surprised when Dean doesn’t immediately start moving again. It’s just a hug and it goes on long enough that Cas relaxes his hands from where they are bunched up in Dean’s shirt to just move gently along his human’s back. Dean exhales a noise of contentment against Cas’ temple and it sends shivers down his spine. 

“Dean?” Cas asks, curious about what this could possibly have to do with dancing. 

“Shh,” Dean whispers in return. “Just enjoy it.”

So he does. He nuzzles closer to nip the side of Dean’s jaw before sliding around to press a warm, slightly wet kiss to Dean’s mouth. Cas is pleased with how quickly Dean opens up for him at the slightest flicker of the tip of his tongue against Dean’s lips. 

They kiss deeply, lazily, like they have all the time in world to explore each other. Cas steps closer, wanting more of Dean’s body pressed against his own. Dean seems insistent that Cas move his hips in a particular manner and the angel finally just goes with it even though it’s more teasing pressure than he wants right now. 

He’s always been fairly direct in his needs. 

Dean never fails to meet them, if his human wants to drag it out then he’s willing. They move in a small circle around each other and Cas is only minimally aware of anything other than Dean’s mouth and tongue and warm hands tugging up his shirt and slipping underneath so that blunt fingernails can scratch at his spine. 

It’s all so good. 

Then Dean chuckles into their next kiss and Cas breaks off asking, “What are we doing?” Suddenly aware that Dean is swaying them both back and forth while forcing Cas to lift his feet little by little and turn in a circle. 

“Dancing,” Dean comments and Cas’ eyes widen in joy, relief, and surprise. 

“I’m dancing,” Cas exclaims with smile.

“You’re pretty good too,” Dean grins. 

“I’d be better naked I think,” Cas offers. Dancing is fun but he wants to get back to the kissing. “Want me to show you?”

Dean’s already tugging on his shirt.


	15. Chapter 15

They Paved Paradise

There are nights when Dean closes his eyes and thanks an absent almighty that he had the forethought to make his children so bendy. 

Tonight is one of those nights. 

Car sex is tricky. Sure Dean’s pulled it off a number of times but mostly with women; their smaller frames leading more toward accessibility in the wake of cramped space. 

But women are a distant memory for Dean and the only being in the whole of the world he wants to be in his backseat with is the naked one currently riding him like they’re on a time limited carnival ride. 

Dean’s naked in the center of the backseat. Cas is straddling his lap facing him with his hips curled up and Dean’s dick buried as far inside him as it will go. The angel’s leaning back against the front seat with his head thrown back and he’s making these noises that Dean seriously thinks might be illegal in all but three states. 

There’s no way a human could hold this position, it’s awkward as hell and has to be uncomfortable. But Cas has proven over their months learning each other sexually, that he doesn’t really give a shit if his leg isn’t supposed to bend like that so long as it makes it fucking feel better in the process. 

And Christ on a crutch is feels so good. 

Dean’s got a clear view of Cas’ body in the low glow of the moonlight coming in the windows. He’s got all this expanse of skin he can slide his palms over. He can get lost in his lover’s body without worrying if his hands are too rough or if he’s thrusting too hard. 

Cas likes being jerked around a little bit. It’s a hell of a turn on. He’s even let his mop of crazy hair grow out a little bit so Dean can get a better grip on it during blowjobs. 

If Dean had known being married to an angel was going to be this fucking awesome he would have proposed the second after Cas blew his ear drums out in that gas station. 

He’d have dropped to his knees in that damned barn and shown Cas right off the bat that he had a solid understanding of respect even if he mouthed off a lot. 

It occurs to Dean as his balls get tight and his dick swells that thinking about that shit was probably not a good idea if he was planning on holding off his orgasm. 

But hell, it’s too late now. 

He comes so abruptly that Cas jerks and almost falls off his perch into the back floorboards. 

“Dean?!” the angel squawks. 

“Sorry,” Dean manages after his moaning slows down. “I lost it.”

Cas’ breathless chuckle tells Dean he’s not in too much trouble. The moan the angel gives when Dean slides two of his fingers inside him pretty much seals the deal that he’s forgiven. 

Cas is squirming on his hand and clinging to the seat while Dean uses his free hand to jack him off with determined efficiency. 

“You’re so wet,” Dean whispers into Cas’ ear while he pants and whines reaching the peak of his pleasure. “I can feel my come inside you.”

That’s all it takes. Cas explodes with a mewl of pleasure that rattles the windows and Dean gasps as come hits him right under his eye. 

“Serves you right,” Cas comments when he calms down enough to see it. 

He stops laughing when Dean wipes his hand off on Cas’ coat.


	16. Chapter 16

They Paved Paradise

Hunting isn’t exactly a nine-to-five job. 

So when they get a chance to bed down and relax for a few days they occasionally take it. 

More so now that Cas and Hel are with them all the time. Dean used to have trouble sleeping with Sam in a different room alone. All those years of being raised to protect and watch out for his younger sibling ingrained into making him wake several times during the night to look around the room as if Sam should be there. 

Cas had done his best to reassure Dean and when that hadn’t been enough he had offered to have Sam sleep in the same room with them. 

That was rejected on all sides as not an option. 

Still, it’s not surprising to Cas that his mate sleeps so much better now that Sam is ensconced next door with a half giant, half archangel who would rip the head off of anything that came anywhere near any of them and then grind the rest of the body into dust while she made the head watch her do it. 

Cas thinks sometimes that of all of them, it’s Hel that is the most scary. 

Sam’s soul glows so brightly with her even Dean has to be able to see it. So now that they’re a pair Cas gets to enjoy mornings like the ones he’s currently having. 

Dean, relaxed and unaware, stretched across his chest in a boneless heap of contentment that makes Cas certain he made all the right choices that led him to this moment. 

Love is indeed a powerful concept. It’s sad so few beings understand its power. 

He can hear the soft gasps and whimpers from through the too thin wall that tells him Sam and Hel are very much awake and occupied. 

It doesn’t bother him the way the Winchesters pretend to be annoyed by it. In Cas’ mind any expression of love is one to be cherished and even though he’s glad he doesn’t have to watch them together he’s equally glad to know they are content. 

Dean’s drooling a little. 

He’s making this little whuffily snore in the back of his throat that Cas often thinks is adorable. 

There’s a squeeze against his chest and Dean shifts slightly and licks his lips. But he’s not yet aware so Cas remains still as he cups an arm possessively around the human. 

Dean mumbles something unintelligible and slides his thigh between Cas’ knees. 

He drops his head down to press a kiss to Dean’s forehead. 

“Waffles?” Dean snuffles with closed eyes and smacking lips. 

Cas grins at the innocence he is so rarely allowed to witness on this man’s face. 

“Anything for you love,” he whispers in return and his grace swells when Dean gifts him with a sleepy grin.


	17. Chapter 17

They Paved Paradise

“They say if it rains on your wedding day it brings you good luck,” Cas offers as he stands looking out the window at the terrible weather. 

“Who are they?” Sam asks clearly frustrated. “And you and I both know that they are full of shit.” 

“I’m not sure,” Cas says with a grin. “But I’ve found that we make our own luck most of the time anyway so I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

Sam snorts but doesn’t say anything further. He looks lost in thought as he looks over the garden now being drenched by the spring downpour. 

“I’m looking forward to being part of your family in addition to being your friend Sam,” Cas says hoping to elevate his friend’s mood. 

He’s surprised when Sam’s large hand reaches out to curl around his shoulder. 

“You’re already part of the family,” Sam comments. “You know that right?”

“I appreciate very much your willingness to accept my unofficial union with your brother,” Cas answers with a nod.

The grip on his shoulder tightens for a moment, before Sam is slowly turning him until they are facing each other with a look of concern creasing his features. “That’s not what I meant. I mean first of all your union with Dean is unofficial my ass. You’re my brother in law period, the end. But Cas, you were family long before you and Dean worked out the whole epic eye fucking thing you had going. Bobby said once that family is about more than blood and he’s right. You chose us, fought for us, died with us, and risked everything. You’re just as much my brother as Bobby is my father and you know how Dean and I feel about him. You’re like the fourth Winchester. Don’t you ever doubt that. We love you, not just Dean.”

It’s in Cas’ nature to be emotionally reserved. Even when he’s not in a vessel he tends to keep his emotions under a tight rein. That’s why he’s so surprised when tears well up in his eyes and roll down his face. He spends a long moment trying to figure out what he’s sad about and comes up with nothing. 

Sam must see his confusion as he reaches up to swipe the tears off his cheeks because he leans down and whispers, “Sometimes we cry when we’re happy too.” Then he tugs Cas closer into a rarely given hug that makes Cas wonder how Gabriel ever mated with Hel’s mother. Sam is a giant in his own right. He makes Cas feel very small. 

“Humans make no sense,” Cas complains. 

“I’m not arguing with you there,” Sam snorts. “That’s why I’m marrying off the farm.”

“If Hel hears you referring to her as cattle you will be spending your wedding night in traction,” Cas warns. 

“If I’m lucky,” Sam says with a wiggle of his eyebrows, “I’ll end up in traction anyway.”

It takes Cas a second to realize what exactly Sam means before the angel makes a face and shoves as the taller man. “Let’s go get you married,” he chuckles.

Sam bends down and presses a kiss to the top of Cas head quickly before releasing him and stepping out into the rain. “Yeah,” he says with a smile. “Let’s do that.”


	18. Chapter 18

They Paved Paradise

“Is he still cold?” Dean whispers as he comes back from restocking the firewood. 

“Yes,” Cas replies softly. “But it’s to be expected given the situation.”

“He’s never going to get it back will he?” Dean finally just has to ask.

“His grace?” Cas questions before adding after Dean nods slowly. “No. Once it’s gone it’s just gone. Elijah will live out his life as a human by Adam’s side. The physical responses that he’s having right now will lesson over the coming days. There is a difference between losing your grace and actually having it be totally gone.”

“Was that what it was like for you?” Dean asks. “When you came back on that shrimping boat?”

“Yes,” Cas nods. “It was disconcerting and quite painful in my case. Not something I would ever with on anyone, much less one of my closest brothers.”

Dean doesn’t know what to say to that. This has been day of high emotions. Gabriel’s return from the dead coupled with Elijah’s sacrifice to make that happen. He wonders if the angel had been honest about how high the cost was going to be for him if they might have tried to find another way. 

But still….Elijah has a serenity that surrounds him more than anyone else in the family. Most of the clan is bumpy and jagged but Elijah is so smooth Dean has taken to calling him the little angel that could. It’s a name that Dean’s going to keep in the future whether Elijah has grace or not. 

It’s not what you are that really matters; it’s who you are. 

He’s looking over Cas’ shoulder into the living room where Elijah and Gabriel are dogpiled on the rug in front of the fire. Adam looped around his mate on one side while Gabriel’s flanked on the other by Hel and her two siblings with Sam at her back. The two people in the center are shivering slightly and it’s then that Dean catches the quiver moving along Cas’ shoulders as well.

“Are you cold baby?” he whispers. 

“It was a taxing day,” Cas answers by not answering and Dean rolls his eyes before he tugs the angel close to his body and rubs his arms up and down Cas’ back. 

“You should be in there with them in front of the fire,” Dean murmurs. 

“You were cleaning up and seeing people out,” Cas shrugs. “I did not want to be away from you. I find myself needing comfort.”

“Well you got it,” Dean assures him. “Everyone’s gone now and the fire wood is stocked up enough to get us all through the night. Let’s go burrow up under the blankets with everyone else now okay?”

Cas hesitates as he stares at his brother for a long moment. Dean sighs “Tomorrow you can tell me why you’re worried about Gabriel.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cas says evasively. 

“Nice try babe,” Dean chuckles. “I know you better than that.”

He drags the hesitant angel forward and chuckles as the mass of family members shift and wiggle to make room for them. It’s weird and a little too personal for Dean to be entirely comfortable; but they’re family so what can you do?


	19. Chapter 19

They Paved Paradise

“She’s fond of you,” Gabriel comments as he stands next to Cas in the kitchen. 

Cas flinches and wishes for Dean to not have gone on this job with Sam today. He’s been dreading this confrontation and wants his husband close by for the fall out. 

“Who?” he asks quietly. 

“You know who,” Gabriel chides him. “Hel, MY daughter.”

“I am aware of her parentage, Gabriel,” Cas answers. 

“I just thought I would check,” Gabriel hisses. “The way your grace feels around her is a little too parental, little bro.”

“So what if it is,” Cas challenges. He’s been prepared for Gabriel’s reaction since his brother was brought back. It’s only natural for Gabriel to be jealous, Hel is his daughter and Cas contemplates that were he lucky enough to really be her father he would feel the same way his brother feels right now. 

“I’m just trying to tell you that I’m back now and your services as stand-in daddy are no longer needed,” the archangel states.

“It’s not my intent to usurp your status,” Cas sighs. “But Gabriel, if you are telling me to stop caring about Hel I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to do that. I love her very much and she’s a part of my family.”

Gabriel doesn’t answer. Cas turns to face his sibling who is standing beside him with his arms crossed tightly across his chest. “Gabriel?” Cas breathes.

“I should be thanking you,” Gabriel whispers. “I should be so fucking grateful that she had you to help guide her when she got free. But I see her and the way she lights up when she sees you and they tell me you gave her away at her wedding and I want to choke the shit out of you Cas. She’s my little girl, my baby. I failed her so badly with Odin and let him trap her down there. I want her to look at me like that. I want her to light up around me.”

“It will take time for her to bond with you, Gabriel,” Cas assures him. “I will not get in the way of that.”

“I know,” Gabriel huffs. “You’re such a fucking martyr, Cas. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“There’s no competition,” Cas sighs. “What can I do to prove that to you?”

There’s a long moment of silence. “You’ve been dead before,” Gabriel says hesitantly. “Did you feel disconnected when you got back? I feel lost and confused; like I missed so much in the time I was missing in action. I don’t like feeling left out.”

Cas chuckles. 

“What?” Gabriel snaps. 

“Well,” Cas shrugs. “The second time I died I was only gone for ten minutes.”

“What about the first time?” Gabriel asks. 

“The first time,” Cas grins. “I wasn’t connected to anything in the first place so I don’t think I can answer the question.”

Gabriel rolls his eyes before throwing his arm over Cas’ shoulder and grumbling, “Well you’re no help.”


	20. Chapter 20

They Paved Paradise

“What’s wrong?” Dean blurts as soon as Cas appears beside him at the vending machine. 

“I missed you,” Cas answers and it’s almost the whole of the truth. Dean gives him the stink eye and he sighs. “Gabriel and I had a confrontation.”

“I’ll fucking send him back where he came from,” Dean threatens and his eyes darken in a way that makes Cas consider that if there were ever a human who could such a thing it would be this man. 

“No need,” Cas assures him. “We are – okay. It’s not comfortable but he’s not hostile. He feels very out of place right now.”

“I don’t care about how he feels,” Dean grumbles as he tugs Cas closer and hugs him tightly. “I only care about you.”

“I know,” Cas grins into his husband’s shoulder, inhaling Dean’s scent and finding comfort in it. “You have a singular focus. I have to admit I like it very much when it’s directed onto me.”

“What me to beat him up?” Dean says teasingly. 

“You mean do I want you to get Hel to beat him up?” Cas chuckles. “It might be difficult being that she’s his daughter.”

“She’d do it for me,” Dean murmurs into Cas’ hair. “She likes me a lot.”

“The feeling being mutual I suspect,” Cas grins. “It’s nice to see you have a friend Dean.”

“She’s not my first friend you know,” Dean snorts as he rolls his eyes. 

“Oh really,” Cas plays along. “And who might your first friend be?”

“You,” Dean says sincerely. “Even with everything that’s come after Cas. You’re my first friend. My first and my best, always.”

“I love you,” Cas whispers as he presses himself as close to the other man as he can. He’s suddenly overwhelmed by the need to see if he can join with Dean completely and never be apart from him again. 

“I love you too,” Dean squeaks. “But you’re squeezing the stuffing out of me baby. I need to breathe you know.”

“I’m sorry,” Cas exclaims as he jerks away and winces as Dean exhales shakily and rubs at his ribs. 

“I’m not,” Dean grins before tangling their fingers together. “It’s kind of nice to know I can make you lose a little bit of your control sometimes.”

“You make me lose more than that and you know it,” Cas huffs as he follows Dean to what he assumes is the room he and Sam are staying in that night. “I should go. This was supposed to be a time for you to bond with your brother.”

“You’re kidding right?” Dean snorts. “All Sam has done is pace and squirm the whole time. He misses Hel. Can you send him home for tonight and stay here with me? Trust me; it will make us both happier.”

Sam lights up at the suggestion and Cas is more than happy to spend the night curled up protected and wanted in the circle of Dean’s arms.


	21. Chapter 21

They Paved Paradise

“Say what?” Dean asks.

Sam’s sweating. It’s a clear sign of how nervous he is that he keeps wiping at his face every few seconds and shifting from foot to foot in the face of Dean’s suddenly unwavering attention. 

“Hel’s pregnant,” he repeats slowly like he thinks maybe Dean’s mentally challenged or something. 

“I’m not deaf or slow in the head Sammy,” Dean barks.

“Then what are you?” Sam questions in a tone so high he really shouldn’t be able to squeak like that in a body so big. “You’re killing me here with the lack of reaction.”

“What do you want me to say here Sammy?” Dean asks before crossing his arms and looking away. “It’s not my kid or anything.”

There’s a moment where he thinks he can hear his brother’s heart breaking and then Sam erupts with, “Fuck you Dean.” 

Dean swings his eyes back around and blinks as Sam stalks around the room grabbing his jacket before turning around to face him and say: “I thought you’d be happy for me. I’m going to have a family. But you know what? Fuck you. I still get to have my family and you just don’t have to be a part of it if you don’t want to. And this is my house, not yours so you get the fuck out of it Dean. I’m not the one leaving this time. Just go.”

He’s driving down the road too fast before he’s really aware of it and Dean’s fuzzy on the part of leaving the house, where he actually left. 

He pulls the Impala over on the side of the road and ends up sitting on her hood with his face buried in his hands. 

How did this go so wrong?

“You really fucked this one up didn’t you Deano?” Gabriel snorts from his left and Dean bites through his bottom lip trying not to yell and scream at the angel to just leave him the hell alone. He knows it won’t work.

“What do you want?” he growls instead.

“I want to know why you’re being a huge dick,” Gabriel answers as he sits down next to Dean. 

“It’s not your business,” Dean snaps.

“Yeah it is,” Gabriel argues. “You upset my son-in-law and by doing that you upset my daughter, my pregnant daughter, so I just need to know why you’re being a bitch.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Dean sighs tiredly. “He just freaked me out. All I can think about is a giant list of monsters that are going to want to hurt this baby and I’m fucking scared okay? Am I not allowed to be scared?” 

“Sure you are,” Gabriel comments as he nods his head. When Dean relaxes slightly the archangel adds, “Don’t you think Sam is too?”

Before Dean can answer, Gabriel’s gone again. 

The next morning he finds Sam sitting on the back porch red eyed and shaky just like he figures he must look. 

“So I did some thinking,” Dean starts without giving Sam a chance to yell at him again. “We need more wards and there’s some supplies that we need to pick up in order to add some extra protection around the perimeter. I don’t want you to worry about that too much because Cas and I have that covered. We’re going to put in a portal to Adam and Elijah’s just in case we need a quick get-a-way and Bobby is sure there’s a spell or two that can basically take this whole compound off the radar for the foreseeable future. It’s cool too because you’re in a good school system so that’ll be important later.”

Sam watches him ramble for a long time, this smile that Dean doesn’t think he’s seen in years breaking over his little brother’s face. 

“Dean…” Sam whispers. 

He reaches out to squeeze his brother’s shoulder gently. “I freaked out,” Dean murmurs. “I got scared and spaced on you for a minute. I’m sorry. But we got too much to do here and not a lot of time to do it Sammy. You got to get it together; we’re having a baby.”


	22. Chapter 22

They Paved Paradise

“Hello,” Cas whispers softly into the bassinet. “I’m your uncle Castiel. You can call me Cas.”

The tiny baby gurgles up at him.

“I’m not exactly sure here what the correct etiquette is for a greeting,” Cas pauses and smiles as the excited squirming his niece does in reaction to his voice. “I’m afraid you’re my first baby.”

There’s some gurgling following his statement and he hesitantly reaches into the bassinet to brush a finger along her cheek. The squeal that follows his action makes him leap backwards and dart his eyes around the room just in case there might be danger. When he finds nothing he peers back into her sleeping place and smiles. “You frightened me.”

He knows Dean says it’s only gas, but he swears she smiles back. 

“I’m pleased to have you as part of my family,” Cas whispers as he places his hands along the rim of the bassinet and tries to resist the urge he has suddenly to scoop her up into his arms and cuddle her close.

This is supposed to be nap time; he shouldn’t even be in here really. He just wanted a few moments alone with her to experience her for the first time. It’s not really the baby that makes him nervous; it’s the crowds of people thronging around expecting him to be nervous. 

She’s just a little human, how much work can she possibly be? 

“I’m married to your uncle Dean,” Cas continues as she blinks up at him. “The one you seem to be so fond of. I hope you learn to like me as much as you enjoy him. We’re sort of a package deal as Sam calls it. We’ve been working very hard to get everything ready for you to get here. Your mother took very good care of you while we were waiting for you to be born.”

She’s squirming more and Cas can’t seem to stop himself from reaching in an adjusting her blanket around her and checking to see if she’s warm enough. 

“I’m sorry if I’m being inappropriate,” he comments. “I’m not exactly sure what the job duties of an uncle are and I don’t want to over step your boundaries without knowing it. Dean says I’m not very good with boundaries. I stand to close to people and say the wrong things at the wrong time. I don’t know when it’s appropriate to hug someone. I’m still learning.”

She squawks then, a loud noise that Cas knows they can hear from the hallway. But Hel is exhausted and Sam is working to reinforce the wards needed to ensure her safety so Cas reaches down and swallows his fear as he scoops his infant niece from her nest. He cradles her against his chest and coos as softly as he can just before she squeals in an angelic pitch and two tiny wings erupt from her back. 

“Oh,” Cas breathes excitedly. “I bet the rest of the family is going to faint when they find out you have those.”

He strokes a hand over them gently and murmurs in Enochian until they disappear. “How about for now they stay our little secret?”

She doesn’t answer; she’s too busy drooling contentedly on his shirt.


	23. Chapter 23

They Paved Paradise

“I don’t think I can do this,” Dean says even as he slips his arms around Cas’ smaller form. “It’s too weird.”

His tone of one part wonder and three parts nerves is enough to make the angel want to scream. He’s the one that went through all these changes for this, not Dean. How is it fair that now after altering everything Dean gets to have cold feet? “You don’t get to take this back now,” Cas hisses. “What’s done is done so you’re just going to have to get used to it. I thought this was what you wanted.”

“It was,” Dean sputters as he slides his hands, shaking with tenderness, along Cas’ ribs. “It is I swear. It’s just that I miss you. It’s like everything in this body is a hair to the left of where I think it should be. You smell the same, you talk the same, and you have the same eyes. But fuck Cas, you sure don’t feel the same.” 

Dean punctuates his point by cupping at Cas’ now soft breast. His thumb ghosts across the angel’s nipple and Cas squirms and whimpers in his arms. 

Dean thinks he’s beautiful. Cas never considered that when he asked Gabriel to change his male vessel to female for the foreseeable future. He had only been concerned with being able to give Dean what they had been dreaming about for a long two years now. 

A baby, a family. Something they could create together. 

“So yeah,” Dean’s breath moves across Cas’ bared shoulder in a caress. “It’s weird.”

Weird, it turns out might not be a bad thing. 

Cas holds it together through their first three rounds. Dean seeming to remember long unused skills to bring this new form so much pleasure that Cas is almost mindless from it even as he is desperate for it. 

The fourth time Dean slides inside that unfamiliar place in his body Cas’ eyes roll up in his head and his wings slip free from his back. It’s a good thing Dean’s behind him, Cas bent over on his elbows and knees in the bed. It allows Dean to lean back and give the inky appendages room to spread out without having to leave that aching place in Cas’ body. 

“Now those are familiar,” Dean groans happily as he immediately releases now shapely hips to dig and tug his way through Cas’ feathers. “Fuck baby, so beautiful like this. Going to keep going on you all night.”

Cas whimpers in ecstasy as Dean plucks and ruffles in all the right way along his quivering wings. He’s tired, his breast feel raw and heavy where they brush along the quilt on their bed. There’s a spot in his body that he thinks is called a cervix that feels slightly abused by the depth of Dean’s thrusts. But so help him, Cas wants to come again, to clamp down around that hardness inside his female body and find that peak he’s crossed so many times tonight already. 

Dean presses in where his feathers turn to skin the same time Cas slips a hesitant hand down to brush across his over sensitized flesh. He swears he sees fireworks right before the lights go out. 

Dean can say all he wants about the glory of manhood, being a woman is phenomenal.


	24. Chapter 24

They Paved Paradise

“I can’t keep doing it Gabriel,” Cas snaps. “It’s too much and I have other things to worry about.”

His gut is getting ridiculously huge. It’s annoying and the pressure against his stomach and lungs is overwhelming most of the time. He’s an angel, damn it, he shouldn’t have to struggle to eat and breathe.

“You were athletic enough last night,” Gabriel snorts. 

“That was all Dean,” Cas growls. “And none of your business.”

“It was everyone’s business the noises you were making,” Gabriel laughs. “I think Heaven heard you screaming for it. I didn’t know you had it in you little bro…er…sis.”

“I hate you,” Cas spits but he leans into the touch when Gabriel reaches up to rub at his sore shoulders. 

“No you don’t,” Gabriel comments softly. “But I know it feels like you hate everything right now. I’ve been there.”

“You were a horse,” Cas huffs. 

“What’s your point?” Gabriel says as he gives Cas’ very pregnant female form a slight shake. “Think of the hooves. Aren’t you glad you’re missing that part?”

“Yes!” Cas bursts out. “Oh being filled up with these two is pressure enough. They poke everything.”

“I hate to tell you,” Gabriel snickers. “That doesn’t go away when they come out.”

Cas just glares at him. It does nothing to keep Gabriel from smiling. 

“So you want me to step in for a while?” Gabriel asks. “Are you sure that’s a good idea kiddo? I’ve been gone a heck of a long time.”

“I know,” Cas answers with a nod. “But I think that’s why it would work. Things are pretty much under control at home since Hel took care of Raphael. But you know how they are with the constant complaining and bickering. I can’t handle it now Gabriel. I’m having twins any day. The contractions are almost constant and the stress is getting to me.”

“So you’re going to quit?” Gabriel asks. “I’m going to be on my own up there?”

“More like I’ll be support staff,” Cas says with a shrug. “Like half time.”

“Okay,” Gabriel nods. “I go from dead to ruler of Heaven in three years. To think I wasn’t on the fast track career wise. I could have been king.”

“Shut up,” Cas huffs but he gives his brother an affectionate nudge. 

“So we haven’t talked about changing you back,” Gabriel says vaguely. 

“I’ll be tied up breast feeding for quite some time,” Cas answers. “I haven’t felt the need to discuss it.”

“Because you want to stay this way?” Gabriel presses.

“Hell no!” Cas blurts. “I miss my penis.”

There’s a moment of stunned, wide eyed wonder from Gabriel before they both burst into laughter. 

“I’m never going to let you forget that,” Gabriel chokes out around laughing. “That was too good.”

Cas rolls his eyes. 

“I didn’t assume you would,” he sighs. “But we can discuss my ever changing body once my children are out healthy and safe.”

“Done,” Gabriel says with a grin and a quick tug on Cas’ still short hair. 

Then he’s gone, shooting across the sky like a star, returning to Heaven for the first time in over a thousand years. 

Cas grins. His bratty brothers are in for a heck of surprise with Gabriel returning home. He just wishes he could see it. 

But the breaking of his water tells him he has bigger concerns.


	25. Chapter 25

They Paved Paradise

“MOMMY!!!!” The two boys shout as Cas appears in the room. 

They’re strapped in their high chairs and smeared with everything under the sun. 

“Oh thank Dad,” Balthazar blurts as soon as he sees his sibling. “I’m telling you I know I told you and Gabriel I would rather stay down here than work with those gigantic idiots at home but these two wear even an angel out. That and they are slimy as hell.”

Cas laughs. As much as Balthazar complains about his role as Uncle they both know he doesn’t mean a word of it. It’s like how Bobby still bristles up at being called Granddaddy. Children have a way of making even the toughest of them all melt inside. 

“You love it and you know it,” Cas rumbles. “Besides what else would you be doing?”

“Wooing a volcanic goddess on the gleaming shores of Hawaii,” Balthazar points a finger in Cas’ face. “She was hot as three hells and bare from the waist up. I mean nothing Cassie and the shape of her….” He trails off to shoot a look at the twins watching him with rapt attention. “Melons,” Balthazar adds with raised eyebrows and a smile. “That’s it, melons. The melons were tasty boys. Very yummy.”

“YUMMY!!!” they chorus even as Cas groans and covers his face.

“What are you guys talking about?” Dean asks as he rounds the corner into the kitchen wiping grease from the Impala off his hands. 

“Yummy melons,” the boys answer. 

“Sounds great,” Dean answers distractedly as he leans down to kiss Cas. 

“You have no idea,” Balthazar mumbles. “Being ripped from their clutches was highly irritating.”

“Since when do melons have clutches?” Dean asks. 

“Since they sit on the chest of a goddess,” Cas grumbles. 

Dean’s eyes go wide and glassy for a second before he nods and tugs Cas closer whispering “I really miss your melons sometimes.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Balthazar announces. “I have no interest in hearing about my brother’s melons, or lack thereof.” 

Cas watches as his brother bends to kiss both toddlers on the forehead before he turns with a quick wave and disappears. He sighs as he leans into Dean’s side and hugs his husband back tightly. “He likes it here.”

“Balthazar?” Dean questions. “Yeah I kind of thought that. His room should be done next week. When were you planning on letting him in on the fact that you’re planning for him to stick around more often?”

“Why ruin the surprise?” Cas asks. “The look on his face will be priceless.”

“You are shockingly devious when you want to be you know that?” Dean teases but he’s already moving to remove their squirming children from their seats and wipe off the oatmeal they managed to smear all over themselves. 

“What do you think guys?” Dean asks them. “You want your Uncle Balthazar to stay here with Sam and his family and Gabriel and us?” 

They cock their heads to the side in a perfect version of Cas’ own movement. 

“That’s not what they call him,” Cas says softly. 

“What do they call him then?” Dean says. “His name is kind of a mouthful.”

“Egg,” Cas chuckles. “They call him Uncle Egg.”

“Egg?” Dean busts out laughing. “Why?”

“We tried getting them to call him Uncle Bal but it came out Balls and I thought it sounded kind of dirty. Eggs are sort of round.”

Dean stands there silently as his boys run off to play. “That’s too good,” he finally comments. “I’m totally going to have to tell everyone.”

“I know,” Cas chuckles before pressing himself up against Dean and tugging on his neck hoping for more kisses. “I would expect nothing less of you my love.”


End file.
